One of the top reasons for your developers leaving? Bad management: If you want to keep your top people, addressing signs of bad practices is vital. In this report, you’ll get exclusive insight and data from the tech community on:
- Why management quality matters
- Red flags managers should avoid
- Green flags that make a great manager
Great software developers deserve great managers. This report aims to help you build and retain a thriving tech team – focusing on the top factors in a manager’s control that will make the biggest impact.
Why the quality of your management matters
Developers’ reasons for leaving a role
Poor management doesn’t just reduce efficiency. It costs you key people on your tech team and makes it harder to replace those who leave.
Half of your developers leave you because of poor management
30% of developers are planning to leave their jobs this year. Your management quality is one of the key reasons developers leave you:
46.5% of South African developers cite poor management as one of their top two reasons behind leaving a role.
Management quality matters, especially to your senior developers
Management quality is especially important to seniors and tech leads. They prioritise environments conducive to their career growth where they can continue their development.
Losing senior talent to poor management is especially costly, as they are in high demand and difficult to replace.
Attracting new developers to your team becomes harder when you have poor management
Losing top talent due to poor management doesn't just cost you current team members — it can also make it harder to attract new ones. Your company's management reflects your overall culture, which is one of the most important non-monetary factors developers consider when evaluating an offer.
Speaking to past and current employees is the most common way developers in South Africa assess a company's culture.
You will have a hard time attracting new team members if your current and former team members aren't happy with your management practices. That means you can't afford to wait to address issues.
We asked our community of software developers to share their thoughts on good and bad management in tech so you know what to watch out for.